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CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office arrested three employees of a bail bonding agency for multiple crimes associated with bounty hunting.
It began on Oct. 27 when 74-year-old Dan Holton said two men, now identified as Alexander Beecham and Gauge Waddell, came to his house around noon and banged forcefully on his door.
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The men said they were looking for Holton’s daughter who had a warrant related to driving under the influence (DUI).
Holton told News 2, the men were dressed like law enforcement officers and did not identify themselves: “I said she is not here, she doesn’t live here. And he took a step and looked over my shoulder into my house and that is when I began to get nervous.”
Holton said the man’s van blocked his car in the driveway and he asked them to leave.
When the men parked a short distance from his home, Holton said he went and took their picture with his phone.
According to Holton, the men were wearing tactical vests that said “Bail Enforcement Agent.”
Holton said neither man identified themselves as bounty hunters or bonding agents.
Investigators said the word “Agent” was much larger than the other text, which Cpl. Shane Dunning said is misleading.
Dunning said the men never registered with local law enforcement, as mandated: “We didn’t get any notification they were in our county doing work.”
According to the arrest affidavit, Beecham and another man went on to another nearby home looking for their suspect. The document claims the men entered a home without authorization, scaring a 16-year-old boy who was inside.
“He didn’t give them permission to come in. He confronted them in the kitchen area of the home that they came in the back door that was unlocked,” Dunning said.
According to the arrest documents, later that day, Beecham and 50-year-old Illa Jordan returned to the same home. The woman they confronted was with two minors. The paperwork said Beecham approached and began yelling forcefully, asking if she was the suspect.
The victim claimed the male was carrying a gun in his hand. She stated that the woman, Jordan, had been in the woods “apparently laying in wait.”
News 2 asked Dunning if the suspects were legitimate, and if they were recognized by the state with credentials to be bail bondsmen or bounty hunters.
“I know they have acquired an 8-hour class that is required, but I also have documentation that they were denied the actual bonding agents in Rutherford County,” Dunning answered.
News 2 obtained a copy of the document registered in the Circuit Court for Rutherford County in Murfreesboro. The documents for both Beecham and Waddell requesting they be added as bonding agents for Free At Last Bonding show a red “DENIED” stamp with the date of Aug. 25.
Surveillance video from Nov. 15 shows the three suspects being booked into the Cheatham County Jail. All three suspects smiled in their mugshots.
“It was kind of a joke to them,” said Dunning.
The attorney for the bonding company said the employees acted according to law and 74-year-old Dan Holton is to blame.
Cayley J. Turrin, attorney for Free at Last Bail Bonding and the three suspects, sent News 2 the following statement:
“We look forward to our day in court, as we have tried to provide the corporal with proof of innocence and documents that show that these charges are false, including video footage. Unfortunately, at every turn, we were denied by the Corporal in Cheatham County and we look forward to our day in court. We tried to explain the nuances of bonding laws but were again denied by him. These are very serious charges, and we have fought them in the past and have won, we look forward to doing the same here. The alleged victim in this matter was merely upset that we were trying to bring his daughter to court in Coffee County that she had purposely missed. Blame is being placed on the wrong individuals here and this is a simple case of an individual who did not want to appear in court and a father who was trying to hide her.”
When told of the comment from the attorney, Holton told News 2, “Well nobody is hiding anybody, never have been. There is no defense for being terrorized by a couple of thugs.”
News 2 checked with the Department of Commerce and Insurance. Gauge Waddell is licensed as an Insurance Producer. The status date is Nov. 20, 2023, almost a month after the alleged crimes. Beecham has a similar document also with a status date of Nov. 20.
Jordan has a valid state Insurance Producer license registered with the state as of Sept. 15. This date is before the alleged incident.
When told of this, Shane Dunning said she still did not notify law enforcement authorities they were in the county looking to pick someone up. “We want to work with our bounty hunters and bail bondsmen, but we ask them to please do it the right way to protect our citizens.”
Waddell has been charged with violation of bounty hunting professional and impersonation of a licensed professional, with a $5,000 bond.
Jordan has been charged with violation of bounty hunting professional bondsman with a bond of $2,500.
Beecham has been charged with violation of bounty hunting professional bondsman, impersonation of a licensed professional, two counts of aggravated assault, and aggravated burglary, with a bond of $35,000.
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Kevin Walters, public information officer for the Department of Commerce and Insurance, sent News 2 the bail bondsmen regulations in Tennessee:
Bail bondsman license summary A bail bond is a type of limited-lines insurance. Limited-lines insurance licenses are issued by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (“Department”). Therefore, in rare situations when it is necessary for bail bondsmen to be licensed in Tennessee, they must obtain a limited-lines producer’s license from the Department. Non-residents may obtain limited-lines producers licenses when the producer holds a like license in another state and meets the requirements of § 56-6-108.
With a few notable exceptions, Tennessee statutes exempt professional bondsmen from licensure by the Department of Commerce and Insurance. § 40-11-302(b) (2022). However, if a professional bondsman acts as surety for certain civil bonds, insurance licensure is required if any of the following conditions are not met: 1) the bond is a maximum of $10,000; 2) the court regulating the bondsman has regulations for the civil bonding activities of the professional bondsman; and 3) the court requires, at a minimum, a 10% security. § 40-11-302(c). Therefore, if a professional bondsman writes as surety for the statutorily specified civil bonds and fails to meet the requirements of § 40-11-302(c), he or she must be licensed by the Department.
For surety companies, a $100,000 deposit must be made with the Department before the company is authorized to execute any bonds in the state. § 56-15-105. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-15-101 gives power to fidelity or bonding corporations to execute, as surety, bonds according to the judicial proceedings of the courts of the state. Additionally, an agent must be licensed if he/she writes a bond through a licensed bonding company. § 56-15-105; 101.
Where the exceptions do not apply, trial courts have the power to regulate the licensure of bail bondsmen. In re Hitt, 1995, 910 S.W.2d 900 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995).
[I]t is the trial court’s function to regulate the professional bondsmen that execute bonds in its court, and it may impose reasonable limitations on the total liability of such bondsmen’s undertakings in that court. [T.C.A. §§ 40–11–302—306] . Further, a trial court has the inherent power to administer its affairs, including the right to impose reasonable regulations regarding the making of bonds. Taylor v. Waddey, 206 Tenn. 497, 334 S.W.2d 733 (1960).
In re International Fidelity Insurance Company, 989 S.W.2d 726, 728 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998), quoting Hull v. State, 543 S.W.2d 611, 612 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1976). Even when the Department does not have the power to regulate the bondsman, the Department “may investigate the civil bonding activities of any professional bondsman [,] ” and if the Commissioner believes the “civil bonding activities are not in the best interest of the general public,” the Commissioner shall send a report of the investigation to the court. § 40-11-302(d)(1);
(2). The court, after receiving the Commissioner’s report, shall hold a hearing and “enter any orders the court deems appropriate.” Id. at
(3). Therefore, the Department can only regulate bondsmen licensure in limited circumstances, as outlined in § 40-11-302(c), and when the bondsmen are writing under a licensed bonding company. Trial courts have the power to regulate bondsman on all other occasions. Bounty hunters, on the other hand, involve different faucets of the law.
A bounty hunter is defined as: “a person acting as an agent of a professional bondsman who attempts to take or takes into custody a person who has failed to appear in court and whose bond has been forfeited, for a fee, the payment of which is contingent upon the taking of a person into custody and returning the person to the custody of the professional bondsman for whom the bounty hunter works.” § 40-11-318(a). However, § 40-11-318(a) details that a bounty hunter is NOT a professional bondsman if that bondsman is arresting the same person with whom they have contracted with.
Bounty hunters must have credentials verifying that they are acting as agents of a professional bondsman in Tennessee, and that they have completed the training required by § 40-11-401. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-401 provides for the mandatory continuing education requirements of bail bondsmen and bounty hunters. According to § 40-11-401(b), bail bondsmen can also act as bounty hunters as long as the requirements for both professions are met according to statute, and as long as the bondsman did not contract with the arrestee according to § 40-11-318(a). Other than the credentials verifying the completion of all requirements listed in § 40-11-401, bounty hunters are not required to have licensure in Tennessee.
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